Online legitimate Movie Downloads – Will it work?

I am a fairly regular buyer from Flipkart’s Flyte. For those who do not know what it is, it is a digital music buying outlet by Flipkart (obviously). Through this people can buy music which can be downloaded upto 4 times by Flipkart and of course is aptly priced in Indian Rupees.

The approach is similar to iTunes (except that the price in iTunes is higher considering the market they cater to). Also, iTunes is a part of a bigger ecosystem that sells not just music but movies, apps and what not.

Flipkart on the other hand started like Amazon and has only recently ventured into digital music. In a country where piracy is the name of the game, it is not just daring but if successful should be an equal game changer as was iTunes in US. I do not know how successful it is right now for Flipkart but I hope it is not in loss.

Now, the natural extension to it seems movies and TV shows. I am obviously looking at iTunes here but also, because I feel that though slow we have achieved an internet speed that is enough to download movies.

Also, like Flyte download manager there can be a “Something movie download manager” which can ensure that unless the movie is completely downloaded no error comes. Or it can be downloaded in more than one sitting. These things would ensure that a person buying the movie will not be scared about losing it.

Also, seeing as Apple distributed their latest OS – Mountain Lion, online and similarly Windows 8 can be downloaded (at a cheaper price mind you!). This clearly shows a shift in the mindset of people.

[Note:After looking at the picture above if you think that Flyte has started allowing movie downloads, then you are wrong… I have just edited the screenshot to make it look like that]

Also, if a person can download pirated movies (which obviously many do successfully), then internet speed is not a hindrance. The real hindrance is of course, piracy but I still believe that it should start. People should get a chance to get their movies in a downloadable form (in a .mp4 format if possible so that it can run on any device) at a reasonable price.

Seeing the competitive pricing of Flyte, I can assume something similar for Movies and TV shows from Flipkart and I believe that the way Flipkart is growing it should be a natural next step or at least they should give it a try.

Or maybe some other company should give it a dab!

What do you think… Will legitimate movie downloads as a business will work?

A graduate from IIT-Roorkee, Kunal Prakash’s love for technology was at first sight and everlasting. He is currently enjoying the first stint as a professional after leaving over 20 years of schooling. You can follow him on facebook or visit his blog for his other musings.

I don’t think This will work..! Because, When the Original DVD releases, with in 2-3 hours, Up-loaders upload all the movies. One more thing I understand is, today internet in india is little costlier than other countries, and the speed is also not up to the mark in many areas. My intuition says that, when you will be having 2 option! 1) Download from torrent or Direct Links or 2) Buy it for 100Rs.! for Same quality! I think majority will choose first one..!

This might work may be after 3-4 years down the line (MAY BE..!).. But Of-course not now..!

@Nikh: Yes, streaming is an option as well, though there are other sites that are coming with streaming. There is one I am using right now which is in beta phase. Also, I have always felt that people like to have a sense of belonging and have something on their hard disk when net is not working.

@Vandhana: Yes, initially, I also do not think their would be mass adoption but I still feel that with increasing internet speeds, people will prefer it. But if there is no such service we will never find it out.

It will take years to get popular but also good idea to bring through online. People always thinks to get free bu also many loopholes to get download for free but also they do not mind about quality of the picture.

@Nikh I am also wondering why this has not been done… It is obvious actually… I think the problem would be from production houses… I guess they would not be comfortable with people downloading entire movies… I dont know really..